BoF4: Eternity Forgotten
by cfraggle
Summary: Ryu wants to be with Nina, but the fact that he is immortal is keeping them apart. Will they find a way to work out thier problems?
1. Safety In A Dragon's Arms

This story is rated R for adult themes, violence, and adult language. No children under 17. Which is Ironic coming from a 16-year-old.....And it's not like my warning is going to stop you from reading this...  
  
I do not own any of the characters that are in the Story, they are all products of Capcom.  
  
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Eternity Forgotten  
  
  
  
The night sky and all the stars in it looked down upon the weary travelers. Their bodies becoming weaker with every passing day. The battles and sorrow for those lost, slowly eating away at their souls.  
  
The camp was small, not large enough to properly shelter the group, but enough for a small sense of protection. As every night the members of the group would rotate so they wouldn't be attacked by suprise, while the others got their well-deserved sleep.  
  
It was his turn to guard, but his time was slowly coming to an end. For him the second watch has always been the longest. He felt that he had just enough energy to do the job, but not enough to properly stay awake. He felt miserable and was counting the minutes until he lay fast asleep and dreaming, if he ever did, about the people he loved and one imparticular.  
  
"Ryu?" a soft, angelic voice from within the small tent called.  
  
"Yes, Nina? Is there something you want?"  
  
He turned to look at her. What he saw took his breath away. Her soft golden hair, which was usually pulled back, was free from imprisonment. It flowed down her shoulders and stopped near the small of her back and her deep cyan eyes were sleepily looking for him. Her face looked delicate and soft, like the petals of a rose. What she was wearing didn't help much either. She wore a sheer nightgown that had sexily ridden up her leg in her sleep. One silky leg exposed to him. He blinked hard as he tried to think of something else, which due to a miracle, he was able to.  
  
He turned to look back at the moon, only to be reminded of her creamy leg.  
  
"I couldn't sleep."  
  
She had stood up and walked over by his side. She was now sitting down close to him.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"My sister...I want to know why." Nina's eyes were tearing up.  
  
"Its okay. We will find Yuna and I will personally make sure you get the answer." Ryu had put his arm over her shoulder to comfort her.  
  
"Ryu...thank you." She was slowly resting her head on his chest.  
  
He could feel his heart racing and his breath quickening. He only hoped that she didn't feel it as well.  
  
"Ryu...let me stay like this. In your arms I feel safe and nothing else matters. Please let me stay like this, if only for a little while."  
  
"Yes, Nina...you can stay here for as long as you want..."  
  
She closed here eyes and drifted off to sleep. The sleep that she most deserved. Sleep filled with peaceful dreams.  
  
"She looks very peaceful..." Ryu said to no one.  
  
"...hmmm...Ryu..." Nina whispered in her sleep.  
  
She was warm to him, slowly lulling him to sleep...  
  
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He woke up and smiled to himself, she was still laying in his arms. He felt as if the world had stopped for him. Her arms were wrapped around his waist. He was in paradise, but then paradise was ruined.  
  
"Well good morning Ryu!" Cray was standing over him with a broad smile on his face, "It looks like some one was having some fun last night." He now looked at him seriously.  
  
"Its not what it looks like Cray..."  
  
"Do you know what it looks like?"  
  
"No...But I shouldn't have to worry about what you think."  
  
"Come on...We need to talk."  
  
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Nina awoke awhile-later unknown of the words that Cray and Ryu spoke to each other only minutes ago. All she knew was that the person that kept her so warm through the night was now missing from her arms and she was disappointed.  
  
I wonder what he thinks of me? Probably he sees me as just a friend. That's why he left.  
  
She got up from the grass, where she had been sleeping, and made her way to the tent to get her cloths. She had to be careful not to wake anyone. She noticed that Ryu wasn't in the tent either.  
  
Well at least he didn't leave to go sleep alone.  
  
Then she noticed that Cray wasn't here either and she already knew where both were.  
  
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"Well Ryu, how was it?"  
  
"What do you mean, nothing like that happend."  
  
"I know...but you do like her don't you? If you don't you can't be toying around with her like that. We all know that she likes you very much, I just want to be sure that you feel the same."  
  
Ryu was blushing now, he had a small smile spreading across his face.  
  
"I feel the same. If not more. She is a goddess, and I am nothing before her."  
  
"That is irony at its best. The God feels helpless infront of a mortal. I just want you to know that you better not hurt her. Or you will have to deal with me and my bat."  
  
"Like you could ever beat me..." Ryu laughed, his eyes twinkling with humor.  
  
"Yeah you're right, but eventhough, you still need to be tested."  
  
"Tested?"  
  
"Yeah...you don't think I will let just anybody court Nina, the Pricess of Wyndia do you. Not to mention my childhood friend."  
  
"I guess not." Ryu said with understanding.  
  
"Draw you weapon, if you beat me I have no objections. Just go easy on me."  
  
"Deal"  
  
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Nina rushed from the campsite hoping she wasn't to late to stop one of them from getting hurt. Running into the woods, looking for them and listening for the sounds of a fight.  
  
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Ryu jumped into the air drawing his katana from the sheath on his waist and slicing through the air at Cray. Cray lifted his large log like bat and guarded his friends attacks. Ryu landed and flipped backwards into his original position, ready for his friends attacks.  
  
None came, instead he felt an unearthly breeze pick up and knew what to expect. His strength was binded, making him weaker. Then the earth shook, like the world itself was being ripped apart at the seems. Ryu fell to his knees unable to keep his balance.  
  
Cray had cast a special magic from himself, earthquake. Taking advantage of the new situation he threw his bat into the air, leaving it unusually aloft, arcing above Ryu's head. Cray ran as fast as he could and jumped into the air and grabbing the handle of the weapon, bringing it down in what would be to a normal creature a fatal blow.  
  
Ryu was disoriented, but still paying attention to the battle was quick to dodge. But he didn't succeed the amount he wanted to. Instead of rolling and dodging it completely; he was struck on the shoulder, breaking it. Ryu screamed in agony, but still stood to a defensive position.  
  
"You aren't holding anything back..."  
  
"Why should I. This is of great importance to me." Cray smiled at him, although it hurt him to see his friend in such a condition.  
  
"I just was figuring, if you aren't....why should I?" Ryu returned the smile and dropped his sword.  
  
"...Fuck..." was all that Cray could say before he would fall unconscious. 


	2. Her Mistake

Ryu was gone in a pillar of light and standing now before Cray was a god.  
  
"There will be no holding back."  
  
With that said, Ryu again disappeared only to appear a mere foot away from Cray. His hand striking him firmly in the stomach and engulfing him in flames. Cray fell without a word into a deep world of nothingness.  
  
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Nina saw a familiar light and a peculiar sound. A sound that she could only describe as a large object hitting the ground with both speed and weight. She ran only to be forced into a clearing staring at Ryu. He was transformed, which scared her. She always felt that when he was in a dragons form he lost part of humanity, forcing him into some strange insanity of rage. She was always afraid of him when he was like this.  
  
Knowing he was here are not immediately seeing him, she searched the scene she had stumbled into for Cray. She locked her eyes upon him the moment she saw him. She ran to his side and looked at her battered friend, his fur was slightly singed from the heat that the flames put off. His usually brightly colored fur was now dark, almost black, and matted in some places. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, her friend had been savagely attacked by Ryu, the one she held deep feelings for. Those feelings faded as she came to the conclusion that he was an animal. A savage animal, one that could only be deemed as a monster.  
  
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Ryu was looking at the way Cray was just laying there and the way Nina was holding him and crying. He reverted to his human form and slowly walked towards the two.  
  
"Nina, he should..." He wasn't allowed to finish.  
  
"Stay away! Don't come any closer! Look what you did to him! I HATE YOU!" Nina was looking at him straight in the eyes now, her tears rolling down her cheeks even more with each word she spoke.  
  
Ryu walked backwards, taken aback by her words of hate and fear. He always felt deep down that she was afraid of him in some way and now he was sure. He knew that he would never be able to hold her like he did last night again. Ryu looked at her with his own tears starting to brim his eyes.  
  
He reached down and picked up his katana, re-sheathing it.  
  
"I....I'm sorry...Nina. For all that I have put you through and all that I have done.  
  
With that Ryu turned and walked into the trees, disappearing into the maze of brown and green.  
  
Goodbye...  
  
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Nina watched as Ryu walked into the trees, now feeling mad at herself for saying what she had said. She knew that she didn't hate him. She in fact loved him with her entire being. She could remember when he turned to leave seeing a single tear fall and be carried into the wind. She put her hands around her waist. The same place where he had held her only an hour ago, the feeling now drifting from her memory, forever to be lost.  
  
Walking back over to Cray she put herself to good use and was slowly treating his wounds to try and bring him around, he was barely alive.  
  
What have I done?  
  
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Ryu ran through the forest not stopping to do anything, if he was attacked he made short work of them. He couldn't believe what he had done. He had almost killed Cray and Nina definatly didn't ever want to see him again. That is why he was doing what he was doing. Ryu quickly returned to the camp he had recently departed from with Cray and was now entering without. He walked quickly into the tent, trying with all his best to not wake anyone in this early morning. He took only what he needed: three days of rations, his canteen, his sleeping bag, and his katana. He looked around with a solomn look upon his face and left the tent without a word.  
  
"Wh..wh..where are you going?" Scias was asking standing to the left of the tent's entrance.  
  
"Away, Scias, I am going away. Maybe we'll meet again sometime."  
  
"Wh..wh..why are you leaving? Do..don't you want to be complete?"  
  
"Yes, I do, but that is why I am leaving. I can't afford to hurt anymore of the people I love."  
  
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Cray was quickly returning. Nina was happy, but thuroughly exausted from all the magic that she used trying to revive him. She layed back and looked up to see the sun now only just above the tree line. To her estimation it must be about seven. Cray was looking at her.  
  
"Nina? What happend?"  
  
Nina looked at him with a smile, but here eyes were sad and lonely.  
  
"Nothing, Ryu just got the better of you..."  
  
"You should be happy then! I know you like him. Its obvious. The way you give him shy glances and the way you can never keep an eye on him for any amount of time without blushing and..."  
  
"Why should I be happy! Yes, I like him! I like him a lot! I might even love him, but that doesn't change the fact that I have ruined my chances of ever being with him."  
  
"I don't see how you could," Cray was still in obvious pain, every so often one could see the way he twitched in agony from the movments of speech, "He loves you, I know it! Or else he wouldn't have put up such a fight."  
  
"What do you mean?" Nina now bewildered  
  
"That is what we were fighting about. If he was able to beat me, I would stand back and let him court you. You are my childhood friend and I wouldn't let just any person to court you. He has to be strong and smart and able to take care of you and treat you the way you should be treated."  
  
"I thought you were fighting because you saw us together last night." Nina said starting to blush.  
  
"I did."  
  
"....ohhh..." Nina's blush deepening.  
  
"I watched you roll around in your sleeping bag and then get up and leave. I watched you hold onto Ryu and then go to sleep. I knew that this needed to happen before I let things go further. We had to fight, even though I already knew the outcome. I knew I would lose and die, lose and come close to dying, or I would win because Ryu wouldn't fight me. Nina... He loves you."  
  
And not for the firs time Nina realized just what a mistake she made. She loved Ryu and he loved her. But he thinks that she hates him and will probably never talk to her again. She had ruined her chances to be with him. To feel the saftey in his arms again.  
  
"Cray... I have to go!"  
  
Nina jumped up from where she was sitting in the grass and ran in the direction Ryu ran in. Not stopping for even the monsters that continually challnged her. She didn't care, she just kept running. She couldn't afford to stop. She ran into the camp, screaming his name and waking everyone up.  
  
"H...he is go..gone." Scias told her.  
  
She just looked up at him, her eyes now full with new tears, not of hate but of sadness for her unjustified words towards Ryu. The words that drove him away.  
  
"Gone? Where did he go?" Nina's eyes begging Scias to tell her.  
  
"Into the sky."  
  
Scias pointed into the sky, pointing out a small figure on top of a familiar looking object.  
  
"He is fl...flying away on a dra...dragon."  
  
"He left....because of me."  
  
She dropped to her knees hugging them tightly to her chest and cryied.  
  
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	3. Return to Me

Cray walked into camp, his muscles still sore from the mornings beating. He looked around only to see and feel the pain that still lingered in the camp site. He looked to Ershin, which to him seemed like a dumb idea. The face of Ershin was just a suit of armor and was pointless to look into that face for answeres, so he turned to Ursula. That was also pointless. She was a cold machine for the Empire. A lone soldier, though he still felt a warmth coming off her when he was close. He could tell she wasn't heartless, but she just didn't show any expression. With despiration he turned to Scias and found his answer. The mercinary just looked at him with despair in his eyes, then turned back to face a figure that Cray hadn't seen until now. It was Nina. She was alone, sad, and afraid. He could see it in everything she did. He had known her for so long that he could read the signs.  
  
Walking over to where his friend was sitting he kneeld down to look into her eyes. They were red with all her tears and she looked ghastly white. She seemed to be very troubled.  
  
"Nina, what's wrong?"  
  
"Me. It was me."  
  
"Nina, what was you please tell me?"  
  
"It was me. It was my fault."  
  
She wasn't talking to anyone, she was staring ahead, looking at everything and nothing at the same time. She was searching. Searching herself for answers to questions that she shouldn't have to be asking herself. Asking, "What if I let him explain? What if I hadn't been there? What if I hadn't yelled at him like that? Would he still be here?" But she already knew the answers.  
  
Of course he would be here.  
  
Cray looked over to Scias and stood to his feet. Walking over to him he asked, "What is wrong with Nina, what happened?"  
  
"R...Ryu is gone. I don't know wh..why, he just is. He took his things about and hou...hour ago and flew off in th...tha..that direction. I have no idea where he is n...now..." Scias replied, his eyes showing his obvious guilt for not stopping him when he had the chance.  
  
"He left because of me...," Nina just stared ahead, "Because of what I said. I said that I hated him. I said I hated him."  
  
Cray hearing this felt his heart drop, he knew how much Ryu felt for Nina. It was obvious to him how much that must of hurt Ryu to hear that. He walked over to where Nina was sitting again.  
  
"Do you? Do you hate him?" He asked already knowing what the answer would be.  
  
"No...I love him."  
  
Cray was taken aback by these words, he knew she liked him, but not to that extent.  
  
"Then there is only one thing I can think of to do...."  
  
She looked at him, her eyes searching his for a bit of hope that she wished was there to salvage Ryu's original feelings for her.  
  
"We need to find Ryu and tell him how you feel. If I know Ryu, that will change everything..."  
  
"And I will come with you...The Empire needs its Dragon." Ursula said, as if a machine would be givin a command from its operator.  
  
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He up toword the sun, the golden liquid pouring down upon the field, staining whatever it touched with a brilian color. He was alone, for the first time in his short existance. He felt dead inside. A great weight had been put upon his chest and it pained him to even breath. He was givin these powers. Powers that could shape the world, powers that could start wars and bring peace. To him, his powers were a curse. He was changing the paths of the people he loved, for better or worse. Although it was usually worse.  
  
Ryu layed back on the branch of the tree he was now laying in, staring at the horizon. Every now and then taking a bite of the apple he had picked along the way. He was amazed at how quiet it could be with no one else around. But he soon grew to miss the sounds of his friends, and all their little quirks that always made him laugh. But then his thoughts always wondered back to Nina. The one he loved and the one that didn't love him. He sighed to himself and thought of the night before. He could still remember the smell of her hair. To him it smelled of sweet *Amberosia* and lilac. He could remember the feel of her body, tightly pressed agains his as she slept. Then came the morning and all was ruined.  
  
I know she doesn't actually hate me. It was just the moment.  
  
"Wasn't it?" Ryu stated the last part aloud. "I have to know."  
  
Picking up his things again he jumped from the tree he had been thinking in and ran back towords camp. He hadn't actually been able to get that far before his Mana reserves were depleted, so he only happened to be nine or ten miles away. If he hurried, he could be there by night fall.  
  
(Side Note: Amberosia is considered in this game the drink of the gods. In greek mythology the drink of the gods was a sweet mixture of honey and wine. Thus the simile)  
  
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"Ryu is not that far from us, I can feel him. He is getting closer....That is what Deis says." Ershin said, stopping the group for a new heading.  
  
She pointed them in the direction that Ryu was and they continued. All of them wanting to find Ryu, but none as much as Nina. She had to tell him how she felt. She needed to say that she didn't mean it. She needed him to forgive her and be her friend again, if nothing else.  
  
"Ershin....I mean Deis, will we be able to catch up with him tonight?" Nina asked, hoping the answere would be yes.  
  
"Most definatly, for some reason we are both moving towords each other. Ryu is coming closer to us and we are coming closer to him....Says Deis." Ershin replied.  
  
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He was in a dead sprint now, calling on strength he never knew he had, to continue running. She was calling to him. He could feel her essence now. He was close. Then he stopped. He couldn't sense her anymore. She was undestinguishable between the hundreds of essences he now felt. The forest animals were all around him. He could feel every essence in the forest at the same time, confusing him. He couldn't move he felt sick to his stomach.  
  
"Nina...I must continue...for her."  
  
He slid down the trunk of a tree. His head spinning and throbbing with the start of a headache. He could here the tree sprites, talking. He knew they existid, he could see them at times. He never heard them though, not like today. They were talking about him, the way he felt and the way he was acting. Of who he was and of his importance.  
  
Then the voices stopped. He looked around to see the normal forest scenery, and then down at himself. He could see blood on his shirt and he could taste blood in his mouth. With one hand he felt for the point of extracture. His nose was bleeding, dark red blood. The color of a wine and thick like paint.  
  
Ryu could feel his mind drift, feel it drift into darkness, he could feel it drift away into unconsiousness.  
  
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	4. Dreams in the Night

Ryu looked through the fog at the figure walking closer. He could hardly make out the form as human, let alone as anyone he knew, but he waited. Feeling that was all he could do. Nina steped out of the mist that surrounded him in every direction and gave him an inocent smile that came forward, pressing her body to his. He could feel everything about her, he could feel every curve of her body pressing against him. Nina slowly lifted her head so she could look at him deep in the eyes, then strained her neck slightly to reach him. Ryu leaned down and they met. Their lips gentilly and hesitantly pressed together, slowly deepening into a more passionate kiss.  
  
It ended all to shortly as Nina backed away from him with a sorrowful look in her eyes and took his hand and placed it in anothers, someone he recognized, but was unable to distinguish where he was able to recognize the person. Nina gave one last look at Ryu, a small tear running down her cheek, she turned and dissapeared back into the fog. The features were distorted and looked almost unhuman. That is when he awoke...  
  
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Rising from the bed he was in quickly he realised he wasn't where he was supposed to be and he slowly crept from the bed. He gave a muffled yelp as he pushed himself off of the bed. Although his sholder bones had reformed in little time, thanks to his dragon transformation,yet he still had minor injuries due to being incomplete. He had brusies and welts all down his shoulder blades, and he felt lucky that he wasn't normal.  
  
He was standing in a small one bed room. Next to the bed he saw a small crate with a lamp on it. He looked on the crate, all the objects he had taken with him when he left the camp. Sitting next to the crate in a small chair was Nina, holding onto his katana and looking very white.  
  
Ryu smilled to himself and walked over to her. She had been sitting there in that chair for what looked like days, there were plates that had obviously held food sitting next to her. She must have been sitting there for however long he has out. Looking at her face he could see just how little sleep she had been getting. Raising his hand over her head, he cast one of his skills he learned on his journey. He cast snooze over her already sleeping body and instantly saw the effect. She instantly relaxed and fell into a deeper sleep. Ryu then cautiously trying not to wake her, picked her up from her current place of rest and put her gently on the bed and covered her with the blankets that not so much as 15 minutes ago had been sleeping in. He looked at her again, taking the chair that she had been sleeping in. Finding that all he just accomplished was to change positions with Nina, he laughed out loud.  
  
Ryu stood and exited into the town center. He realised where he was for the first time. They had carried him back th Pauk. They must have lost a few days in doing so. He realised just how hungry he was and walked out of town.  
  
"Are you leaving again? Asks Deis..." Ershin said uncharacteristicly.  
  
"No Ershin, I am just very hungry. I will be back once I find some food to eat."  
  
"Deis says that would be understandable, due to the fact that you haven't ate in the two weeks you have been asleep...HA HA HA! I beleive I have just laughed at an unapropriate time..." Ershin said, as always, in a very confusing manner.  
  
"That is how long I have been asleep? No wonder Nina doesn't look very good. If she wakes, please tell her I said I would be returning and she should sleep."  
  
"Ershin will do so."  
  
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Nina walked toword Ryu, smiling at the one she loved. Smiling, finally being able to see him awak again, she was happy that he was going to live. She had been afraid that he would die before she was able to tell him exactly how she really felt. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if the last things he heard from her lips were that she hated him.  
  
Nina cheered herself up everyday, reminding herself that he was a god and destined to meet with Fou-lu. She knew he wouldn't die before she was able to tell him, but the fear came over her all the same, she approched him and gave him the warmest smile she had given in weeks, the only smile she had smiled in weeks. But the fear came over her again as she approched slower and slower. She could feel pain as she approched him, she had never felt such things before. She was aging before her eyes while he stayed the same. He was never changing, always young and full of energy. She was dying while she watched. Then she was gone, no more of this world, she had been taken away to the after life.  
  
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It was Nina's turn to wake up frightened, frightened over her dream. She was nothing compared to Ryu. Ryu was a god. How could a God love a mortal. He would never leave this world and she would. In time, her lifetime to him will seem like the passing of seconds. She looked around, startled that she was no longer where she sat, but rather was where she lay. Ryu was gone, yet again, and in his place was a joy. She knew he was alive, no more the fear of his death, or now the fear of hers. She was just worried about where he was now.  
  
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"Ershin, did you see Ryu leave here?"  
  
"Yes, Ershin did. He left early and told me to tell you to 'go back to sleep' and 'I will be back'."  
  
"I can't sleep, I have been having bad dreams. I can't get him out of my mind. How he was so helpless. Just lying there."  
  
"Deis says she can relate. She says, 'He did look pathetic,'." Ershin said.  
  
"Don't talk about him like that. He was just....human..."  
  
"Deis said, ' and that is what makes him weak'."  
  
"You don't understand, all you know about is being a god. Ryu gets to see both sides. And that is why he will be the greatest god of them all." Nina looked towords the ground remembering her dream.  
  
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He looked at the rising sun, it was magnificent. He felt like he was immesuarble to two things, one was the sun and the other was Nina. And both of them were on his mind at that point in time. He was thinking about his dream. Nina looked beautiful, as always, as she walked up to him from the fog. He remembered the way she felt pressed against him and the taste of her lips when she kissed him. They tasted like sweet rasberrys. To him that taste was intoxicating. He was quick to blush though as he noticed that his thoughts were betraying him, eventhough nobody was around to see.  
  
But then his heart droped as he remembered the way she cried as she walked off, leaving his hand clasped by the unearthly looking person. Ryu blinked, trying to rid himself of his thoughts and return to his meal. He only hoped that his dream held no meaning. He returned to his roast which was doing just that over the fire he had started. It was slowly cooking as his stomach grumbled in approval for his meal selection.  
  
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
  
  
Dear Reader: Sorry for the long delay in the story update. I don't have the internet at home and thus couldn't update during the weekend. I hope that all of you out there reading my story are enjoying it and I was glad to fix up that little mistake from chapter one about his broken shoulder and how I just left it. I figured, some stat affects leave after a transformation so why not go with that.....  
  
I plan on this being a three to five book project, so this will be a long haul. This book might only go for another two or three chapters. The reason I am splitting them the way I am is due to time lines. This one happens before Fou-Lu's Tomb and the next will occur when the group finds Elina and need to find the dragonslayer. Some might think that is where I am now because of the first chapter, but that is only because of Nina missing Elina and wanting to find her.  
  
  
  
Next Books Definate title: BoF4: Eternity Forgotten: An Endless Love 


	5. A Love In the Day

Ryu looked at the horizon. The sun had risen more into the sky. His roast now growing cold from the chill wind that had picked up. Even though he was still hungry, he couldn't eat anymore. His mind was somewhere else. He was thinking of her and what he would say when he was with her next. Every question he would ask seemed like it held no meaning, every statement no value. His heart and mind was now like the sky, clouded.  
  
He looked to where he had laid down his blade.  
  
"Maybe it is time to head back." Looking at the horizon once more, "Then again...maybe not. I just don't know."  
  
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Nina looked to the clearing, seeing Ryu sitting on a log and eating what seemed to be a roast. He looked very handsome to her, even in his present condition. He was pale and looked very weak. She steeped from the shadows of the trees and spoke to him.  
  
"There you are...I was worried you left again."  
  
Ryu looked at her, turning from the horizon and smiled.  
  
Nina looks worried, about me? I know she doesn't HATE me, but does she care about me that much?  
  
"I wouldn't run again. I know it was foolish of me to do what I did. I am sorry for worrying you."  
  
Ryu looked into Nina's eyes and caught a small glimpse of something. Something that looked to Ryu as relief.  
  
She is, she is relived. But what is she relived about?  
  
"Listen....Ryu, about what I said..." Nina started but Ryu interrupted her.  
  
"You don't need to apologize. I understand that Cray is one of your best friends and like you told me when we went fishing, you love him. If anyone I am the one to be apologizing."  
  
Does he really think I love Cray. Even after all my advances? These thoughts ran through Nina's mind  
  
"Ryu...you misunderstand...I don't LOVE Cray. I see him like my older brother, I feel I can tell him anything. Besides, he is much to old for me. I don't love Cray, Ryu, I love.....nevermind" Nina now blushing profusely.  
  
"Nina..."  
  
"Yes, Ryu?" Nina unable to look into the others eyes.  
  
Ryu put his hand on Nina's chin, gently lifting her head so she looked straight into his eyes, and he slowly lowered his head towards hers. Slowly closing the gap between one another and pressing his lips to hers. He could feel her heart racing and the heat coming off of her as they touched. He removed his hand from her chin and let it brush her neck as it came to rest on her shoulder. Then they parted.  
  
Nina's face was even redder, not from her embarrassment, though from the passion she felt in his kiss.  
  
"Ryu...I love you."  
  
Smiling Ryu replied, "I know."  
  
She leaned in for another kiss, wanting to feel the way she felt forever. Ryu's hands now finding he thin waist and pushing her back to the ground. She felt him deepen their kiss, opening his mouth just the slightest bit. Not knowing what to do, she did the same, only to feel his toung dance across hers and probe her mouth. Then again it stoped. Nina was out of breath and she felt even hotter than before, which she found suprising.  
  
"And what about you? Do you love me?"  
  
"Yes...I do. Now and forever."  
  
"Then please...go slow." Nina said as she slowly unziped her dress.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
"I wonder how Ryu is doing?" Cray asked himself, "I am sure he is all right and doing fine but then again he was pretty bad off when we found him." This time talking to Ursula.  
  
"He is fine...you forget, it is his destiny to meet with Fou-lu."  
  
"Yeah...I guess you're right. But I will sleep better when I see him for myself. I never should have challenged him. I knew he could beat me, and I knew he would. But I am just to much of a Warren to let a good fight pass me by. Even if it is one I will never win."  
  
"Has anyone ever told you that you speak to much?" Ursula said, not an emotion coming across her face, instead she just sat there, like a rock.  
  
"Yes..."  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Laying in the soft grass of the clearing, Ryu held Nina close to him. He looked at her face to see she was sleeping.  
  
Her face is so small...So fragile, even to those with a gentil touch, are these mortals. What we have will not work...I am immortal. If we continue...I will watch her age and die, while I stay the same.  
  
He looked back up to the sky already knowing what he would have to do. But for now, he just laid there. Holding Nina's naked body close to him to keep her warm and wishing that he could stay like that, holding her, forever. But he already knew he couldn't.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
"Ershin...Where is Ryu?" Cray asked as he walked from Ryu's Room at the inn at Pauk.  
  
"Ryu has left early morning. Nina had followed hours after."  
  
"You're saying that both Ryu AND Nina are gone out in the woods. Probably not even together." Cray was afraid, not only for the life of Nina, but what Nina would do if she found out Ryu was injured again.  
  
"No, neither is alone because both are together."  
  
"Well that does bring some releife."  
  
"Coming back the will be, soon."  
  
"You know Ershin you have a fucked up way of talking?"  
  
"Ershin likes the way Ershin talks. If you no like the way Ershin talk then that not Ershin problem."  
  
"Cray...Y...y...you were jus..s...st told by walking arm..armm....armor."  
  
Ursula was in a chair across the room obviously finding this funny.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
It was getting late in the day, and neither had much to say to one another. Ryu was dreading what he had to say to her soon and Nina was waiting for Ryu to speak to her. Ryu couldn't prolong this any more.  
  
"Nina..."  
  
"Yes Ryu?" She answered all to quickly, she was jumpy from waiting for what he had to say. She knew that he had to talk to her. She just didn't want what she heard to be bad news.  
  
"We need to talk."  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
  
  
Only TWO more chapters to be put up before I start book 2  
  
BoF4: Eternity Forgotten: An Endless Love  
  
This series will streach on until somewhere after the end of the game 


	6. Signs of the Future

"Nina...We...we can't be together. We can't exist."  
  
"What? Why? Was it something I did or said? If it was I'm sorry...Please, don't..." Nina begged with tears brimming her eyes.  
  
"It was nothing that you did. We can't change this. I am immortal. I will watch you die if we are together. Even though I love you...with all my heart, there is no way to escape this fact. It is better for both of us if we don't continue. I am sorry."  
  
"No! We love each other and there is no way that I am going to let you go! There has to be a way to be together! Just...don't leave me."  
  
"Nina," the same feelings flowing through him as her, "I will never leave you. I will always love you, but this is the end of us, not like it ever properly began." Ryu's hand raising to wipe the tears from Nina's eyes.  
  
"Don't!" Nina screamed at him and smacked his hand away, "I am not going to give up on us. We will find a way."  
  
"I want to be with you. But I won't allow myself. I can't feel that pain, if I continue I will feel this pain for all existence. And I am sure you don't want to be with someone that will never age, never grow old with you. Someone who will always look the same as when you met."  
  
"You're right. I don't want that. But I do want you. I will find a way to be with you." Nina repeated, this time to herself as if trying to convince herself.  
  
"I am sorry Nina." Ryu lifted his had to stroke her cheek of the tears once again, but remembered the original outcome and stopped. He stood instead and walked off in the direction of Pauk.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
"What is taking them?" Cray asked, worry spreading across his face.  
  
"They should be coming back anytime now."  
  
"They better be. It's my job to protect the princess. I do trust Ryu with Nina, but I don't trust the monsters in the forest."  
  
Ryu walked into the town a very serious expression put on his face.  
  
"Ryu! What's wrong? Is Nina okay?"  
  
Ryu said nothing, all he did was stare at Cray and pushed past him. Like he didn't here the question at all.  
  
"Ryu! Answer me!"  
  
"She is fine, she should be back any minute." Ryu never quit walking until he reached his room in the inn. He shut his door behind him and let his tears flow. He had to be strong for Nina before, but now he was alone. He put his head up against the wall and beat his fist into the wall. "Why did it have to be this way...People shouldn't feel such pain, and it's all caused by us damned Endless! I love you Nina...and I hope we do find a way to be together."  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
"Nina! What's wrong?" Cray saw the look on her face, it was the similar to Ryu's, except hers was much worse. "What has happened?"  
  
"He...said that...'We will...never...exist.' Never...exist. Nina choked out between sobs.  
  
"Who said that Nina, who?"  
  
"Ryu."  
  
"Why can't you exist together?"  
  
"He is immortal...he will out live me."  
  
"Do you love him?" Cray asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
"Yes...forever." Nina said, with certainty  
  
"Then you can never give up hope. Hope will always arise in the worst possible situations, I know. Don't turn your back on his love, it will be given to you."  
  
"Thank you Cray. You always know what to say to cheer me up." Nina said, her eyes drying and a small smile coming to her mouth. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "You are always so good to me."  
  
Nina started toward the inn, looking back over her shoulder at Cray to give him another smile that said, 'it's all right, I really am okay.'  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
In the night the dreams came to him again...  
  
Nina approached him through the fog, only to link his hand with another, then leave. But the dream continued. The fog around the person he was holding onto was clearing, the person becoming more and more disfigured as the fog cleared. Then Ryu realized the truth of who the person is. The person that originally seemed so familiar, was now revealed to him. He was holding...and then it was gone.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
"Deis says, 'Wake up Ryu!'" Ershin sat by his bed shaking him hard.  
  
"Er..Ershin? What is it?" Ryu looked at the suit of armor with growing disinterest. He wanted to sleep.  
  
"Deis says that, 'the winds of change are blowing.' I don't know what this means, but she told me to wake you for it and that you would know what you are waiting for when it happens."  
  
"Deis said that huh? Well I guess I better take heed." Ryu got up from his bed, giving the extra push of sarcasm.  
  
"Mock Deis you are. Frown at her she does."  
  
"Ershin, it is late. I have had a very difficult day and I must sleep."  
  
"Then sleep young dragon." Deis' voice emanating out of Ershin. "But don't tell me I didn't warn you."  
  
"Right."  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Nina was laying in bed, she was tired, but still unable to sleep. The words that Ryu spoke to her were still running through her mind.  
  
I WILL find a way to be with you.  
  
Nina looked at her door, hoping that she would see him looking at her from the small opening she left, like she did on so many occasions. Tonight wasn't one of those nights, and she knew deep down that another one of those nights wouldn't come for a long time. She sat up, feeling something...not quite unfamiliar. I can feel him, all around me.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Ryu sat up straight sweat dripping off his face. He could feel the power that was flowing from what seemed like everywhere.  
  
This is it! A sign of what's to come...I never though he would be so powerful.  
  
He stepped from bed and put on his cloths that he had removed. His mind was aching from the feeling of it. He could taste the blood flowing through his body, he could feel the energies of everyone else around him. They were strong, but there was no comparison to the one that invaded his mind. Fou-lu. He was searching for him. Ryu could feel it. Fou-lu wanted to find him, to be complete. To Ryu's surprise, his nose was starting to bleed again as the pain in his head grew worse.  
  
Ryu dropped to his knees, gripping his head. The knives still striking his body. He thought he couldn't hold on any more, the pain stopped as his walls fell. His body was spent of all energy left and he collapsed again into a deep sleep.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Nina looked around her room, the feeling of what was happening making the room look distorted, almost making it seem like the room was moving. It was dizzying her. Nina shook her head roughly. Why was she feeling this? The disorientation was mind boggling.  
  
If it is this bad for me...  
  
"Ryu...."  
  
Nina fell to her knees again wanting to be by his side, to help him through what ever it is he must be facing...  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Ryu looked into the eyes of the person standing before him, recognizing him immediately as a person of close resemblance to himself.  
  
"Fou-lu...We meet."  
  
"Yes. Tis a shame we meet on such short notice..." He said, a small smile falling across his lips, a small twinkle in his eye.  
  
"Are we to become one? Now?"  
  
"Nay...Thou art not ready...besides...tis but a dream we speak in. Thou must travel to our tomb and see our place of summoning." Fou-lu spoke with a dignified tone.  
  
"Why there? Why must I go?"  
  
"Tis a test you art on now. Make thy way to Chedo, find thy answers."  
  
With that Fou-lu disappeared only to leave a disturbed Ryu behind, with many unanswered questions.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
"Ryu! Wake up!" Nina yelled at Ryu as he laid motionlessly and with no signs of life. A tear rolling from Nina's eye.  
  
Ryu jerked form the ground, shocking all around.  
  
" 'Why do you all look so surprised, he is ment to meet with Fou-lu' Deis says"  
  
"Because he has technically been dead for two hours now!" Cray shouted at the tin can.  
  
"Ershin sees now where one might be surprised..."  
  
"Grab your things, we leave soon to see my grave..." Ryu stated uncharacteristically.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Well, I feel that there isn't much more I can do with this story, I feel its time to start the next "book". I won't be writing another chapter for this part. Look for  
  
BoF4: Eternity Forgotten: An Endless Love  
  
by at least next Wednesday. 


End file.
